Three IDF soldiers from the Givati Brigade fell on Shavuot in combat in the Gaza Strip.
Medic Sergeant Lior Steinberg, 20, from Petah Tikva, Medic Sergeant Ofek Barhana, 20, from Yavne, and Sergeant Omer Van Gelder, 22, from Ma'ale Adumim, a squad commander in the brigade.
In the incident in which Sergeant Lior Steinberg, Sergeant Ofek Barhana and Sergeant Omer Van Gelder were killed, two additional fighters were moderately injured and evacuated to a hospital for medical treatment. Their families have been notified.
The funeral of Sergeant Major Omer Van Gelder will take place today at 4:00 PM at the Mount Herzl Military Cemetery.
The funeral of Sergeant Ofek Barhana will take place today at 4:00 PM, in the military section of the Yavne cemetery.
Details of the incident as reported by Doron Kadosh, the military correspondent for the Israeli Broadcasting Corporation:
• The incident occurred yesterday, a few minutes before 7:00 PM. A convoy of Hammers was accompanied by a fire truck, which had to enter the Strip to extinguish a Nemr-type armored personnel carrier that had caught fire during the morning hours. The Nemr caught fire after the engine overheated - and the fire truck had to be brought into the Strip to extinguish it.
• While the fire truck was returning to our territory, the convoy, which included a number of tanks and an armored personnel carrier, accompanied it to Israeli territory - and along the way - on one of the roads deep in the area - an explosives scene was activated on the convoy.
• This is a particularly large explosive device scene, which included about 20 explosive devices spread out along the route (!). The IDF estimates that the terrorists planned to activate all the devices together - and cause an incident with dozens of deaths, with all the devices activated on the entire convoy. For unknown reasons, only one of the devices was activated and exploded - on the open Hummer in which the Givati fighters - Lior, Ofek and Omer Hayd - were traveling.
• The three fighters were killed, two additional fighters were moderately injured. The IDF realized that this was an IED incident and immediately acted to extract the convoy from the scene. Air Force fighter jets and drones began intensively attacking targets throughout the area to extract the convoy and the injured from the scene. A helicopter from Unit 669 landed in the area to extract the two wounded to a hospital.
• After the incident, IDF engineering forces worked throughout the last few hours to neutralize the IED scene and dismantle everything the terrorists had placed in the area. At this stage, the type of IEDs and how they were activated are still unknown.
Ran Bartz, former head of the National Information System, paid tribute to Givati fighter Omer Van Gelder, the late, his daughter's partner.
""How painful," Baratz wrote. "Omer van Gelder, the warrior and commander from Givatayim, one of the three fallen in Gaza, is the husband of my beloved daughter. Omer was a true friend. A rare personality. Every encounter with him was filled with abundance of goodness and joy, and brought the family endless happiness and love. We all fell in love with him from the first moment. Our hearts are broken.".
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu: "On behalf of all citizens of Israel, my wife and I send our deepest condolences to the families of our heroic fighters, Sergeant Lior Steinberg, Sergeant Ofek Barhana, and Sergeant Omar van Gelder, who fell in Gaza in the campaign to defeat Hamas and free our hostages.
""Our hearts ache with the families in this most terrible moment. We will forever cherish the heroism of our warriors Lior, Ofek and Omer. May their memory be blessed and cherished in the heart of the nation.".
Member of the Political and Security Cabinet, Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, paid tribute to the three IDF soldiers who fell in Gaza: "A painful morning upon receiving the news this morning. Lior, Ofek and Omer, courageous warriors who fell in defense of the homeland. The warriors with the huge smile enter the heart of everyone who sees them. It is their heroism that enables the continued existence of the State of Israel.
""I bow my head, mourn their fall, and embrace the Steinberg, Brehna, and Van Gelder families from the bottom of my heart, together with the entire people of Israel. We will continue their mission, may their memory be blessed,",
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